“Cop control was so tight at the Cat Mother - Jimi Hendrix concert that any attempt by anyone to get out of their seat was met by a barrage of flashlights and threats of immediate eviction. Two spectators jumped up from their seats to dance; they were literally chased out of the hall by the cops. They even tried to show their contempt for the music by parading back and forth in front of the stage with their fingers in their ears (or maybe they were just picking them). But anyway, Jimi answered their attempt to stifle the energy of his performance with one of the most beautiful displays of crowd psychology I’ve ever seen any rock star use. Announcing he only had time for two more numbers, Jimi did a brief dedication for what he said “used to be a patriotic song,” then played the “Star Spangled Banner” as a guitar solo with some heavy riffs, lots of feedback and a few strains of “Dixie” thrown in. The Experience then broke immediately into “Purple Haze,” at the conclusion of which both Jimi and Noel Redding thanked the audience for coming down. Much of the crowd stood and began to leave and the cops started to relax. The weirdos were all going to go home now. Then, as if it had been carefully rehearsed, the group broke into “Voodoo Chile (Slight Reprise)” [sic] and caught the efficient security control completely off guard. Too many people were out of their seats to be forced back and when many of them started running down on the main floor, the cops just freaked and rushed to the front of stage to protect something, though I don’t think they knew just what. Getting everybody up didn’t really prove anything but it sure scared the hell out of most of the rent-a-whatever’s.”

“Cop control was so tight at the Cat Mother - Jimi Hendrix concert that any attempt by anyone to get out of their seat was met by a barrage of flashlights and threats of immediate eviction. Two spectators jumped up from their seats to dance; they were literally chased out of the hall by the cops. They even tried to show their contempt for the music by parading back and forth in front of the stage with their fingers in their ears (or maybe they were just picking them). But anyway, Jimi answered their attempt to stifle the energy of his performance with one of the most beautiful displays of crowd psychology I’ve ever seen any rock star use. Announcing he only had time for two more numbers, Jimi did a brief dedication for what he said “used to be a patriotic song,” then played the “Star Spangled Banner” as a guitar solo with some heavy riffs, lots of feedback and a few strains of “Dixie” thrown in. The Experience then broke immediately into “Purple Haze,” at the conclusion of which both Jimi and Noel Redding thanked the audience for coming down. Much of the crowd stood and began to leave and the cops started to relax. The weirdos were all going to go home now. Then, as if it had been carefully rehearsed, the group broke into “Voodoo Chile (Slight Reprise)” [sic] and caught the efficient security control completely off guard. Too many people were out of their seats to be forced back and when many of them started running down on the main floor, the cops just freaked and rushed to the front of stage to protect something, though I don’t think they knew just what. Getting everybody up didn’t really prove anything but it sure scared the hell out of most of the rent-a-whatever’s.”